10 Pro Athletes Hawking Terrible, Horrible, No-Good Junk Food

These athletes are the world's best at encouraging kids to eat poorly.

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Peyton Manning

After the fifth week of the season, the Denver Broncos quarterback stands atop the league in every passing statistic—save interceptions, owned by little brother Eli. But the future hall of famer is also leading in the dubious field of advertising unhealthy foods on TV. Manning’s lent his image to campaigns selling Papa Johns Pizza, Gatorade and Wheaties. Oh, and there’s this epic Double Stuf Oreo’s lick-off too.

(Rick Wilking/ Reuters)

Serena Williams

With four gold medals, 17 single and 13 doubles Grand Slam titles, Serena, the number one ranked tennis player in the world, is also the highest earning female athlete in history. In addition to her on-court winnings, Serena has raked in the big bucks by appearing in advertisements for Oreos, Gatorade and Nabisco’s 100 calorie pack snacks.

(Kim Kyung-Hoon/ Reuters)

LeBron James

The NBA’s reigning MVP, a champion winner, and the face of the NBA 2k14 video game, LeBron is making a concerted effort to dethrone Jordan as the best play the game has ever seen. Off the court, he’s gone much futher than Jordan as a schill, appearing in advertisements for Sprite, glaceau’s Vitaminwater, Powerade, McDonalds and, let us not forget, his namesake LeBron Lightning Lemonade Bubblelicious Bubblegum.

(Brent Smith/Reuters)

Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart has the rare distinction of being the only NASCAR driver to race both McDonalds- and Burger King-sponsored cars. Stewart has also advertised for Coca Cola, Ritz Crackers, and Subway.

(Andy Lyons/Getty)

Chris Paul

In addition to his numerous State Farm commercials, the Los Angeles Clippers point guard has appeared in advertisements for Vitamin Water and Powerade.

(Andy Lyons/Getty)

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

NASCAR’s most popular driver advertises for Amp energy drinks, Mountain Dew, and Hellmann’s Mayonnaise—which has everything to do with racecar driving, right?

(Mark Wallheise/ Reuters)

Joe Mauer

Despite his notable dip in performance in the years coming off winning the American League MVP award in 2009, the Minnesota Twins catcher has still found time to help sell Gatorade, Pepsi, and Minnesota’s own Kemps Ice Cream.

(Brian D. Kersey/Getty)

Ryan Howard

The Philadelphia Phillies slugger may have been slowed by injuries during the past couple of seasons, but he can still be seen slinging five-dollar foot long’s for Subway and appearing in advertisements for Powerade.

(Tim Shaffe/ Reuters)

Sidney Crosby

The Pittsburg Penguins captain has had a concussion-filled few years, but he’s still cashing on his Gatorade deal. Crosby, a Canadian, also lends his image to ads for Dempster’s Bread products and Canada’s top fast-food restaurant, Tim Hortons.

(Todd Korol/ Reuters)

Apolo Anton Ohno

While he may not make headlines year round, the telegenic three-time Olympian, who has eight medals in short-track speed skating, dominates the airwaves whenever the Winter Olympics come around. In the past, Ohno has starred in ads for Coca Cola, Oreos, and the Got Milk? campaign.

So Seasonal: Squash Recipes for Fall and Winter

Hulking, pebbly, curvaceous, splattered with hues of green, orange and red—winter squash, which comes in to season in early fall, is the vegetal embodiment of the season. Seeing a pile of delicata or kabocha squash at the farmers’ market is about as autumnal as neatly raked pile of maple leaves.

Around the same time of year that butternut becomes a regularly encountered word once again, around the same time that decorative gourd season starts, another fleeting “season” descends upon us: Pumpkin-spiced whatever season. There’s latte, coffee creamer, beer, bread.

Don’t fall prey to their pre-prepared, fake-cinnamon-scented lure. Because cooking winter squashes (including pumpkin) at home is the best way to enjoy the true star of the harvest season. But with their hard skin and confusing names, it can be difficult to know where to start with this fall and winter crop. With these squash recipes, ranging from salad to soup to gratin, you’ll know just what to do.

(Photo: Suzies Farm/Flickr)

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When I was in fourth grade, my idol was a University of Michigan quarterback who grew up down the road. I wanted to go to Michigan and play quarterback too, so I started wearing the same number in my school sports. If I had known what kind of food he ate—or said he ate—I would’ve insisted on eating it too.

Whether they like it or not, fame, visibility and status make athletes role models to many young children, an audience they have a tremendous influence on. While that power could be used to show kids how eating healthy and spending hours upon hours practicing has helped them achieve their goals, there’s more money to be made by dunking an Oreo or quenching their thirst with sugar and caffeine.

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TakePart is the digital news and lifestyle magazine from Participant Media, the company behind such acclaimed documentaries as CITIZENFOUR, An Inconvenient Truth, and Food, Inc. and feature films including Lincoln and Spotlight.